Sindh Governor Dr Ishrat-ul-Ibad Khan has said that cultural activities show identify of any city or the province as they help bring citizens closer to each other.
“Some 13 years back, the annual grant of Arts Council of Pakistan, Karachi, was only Rs 10,000, which has been raised to Rs 28 million. It is likely to be further increased to Rs 40 million this year,” the governor said while addressing the oath-taking ceremony of newly-elected office-bearers of Arts Council of Pakistan on Tuesday.
The governor said he also provided Rs 120 million from his fund for the construction of new building at the Arts Council. He said: “Arts Council of Pakistan was not only the biggest cultural organisation of Pakistan, but also an innovative identity across the world, he added.
He said: “The Urdu Conference being held here every year has established its own identity worldwide, and that is why other activities held here attract scholars from across the world.” The governor said that peace was mandatory for boosting cultural activities and that was why better results of the operation launched around two years ago in the city had brought positive results. “The social, literary and cultural activities are on the peak level and credit of this goes to law enforcement agencies, police, Rangers and intelligence agencies,” he commented.
He said the operation would continue till its logical end, while target killers, extortionists and kidnappers would never be pardoned. He said: “The business community, ulema and people belonging to all sectors of life have offered good cooperation to the law enforcement agencies,” the governor said.